Today Optus announced plans to expand its 3G network coverage next year to 98 percent of Australia and will bring mobile speeds up to 42Mbps by 2010, in a direct challenge to rival Telstra.
After years of discussions and months of government wrangling, it's finally time for Telstra to close down CDMA for good. So how will the telco go about switching off an entire network?
In the latest endeavour to encourage its remaining CDMA users to move to Next G, Telstra will be contacting users experiencing a number of dropouts on its 3G network to try and solve their problems.
Telstra has revealed that it will be increasing the speeds of its Next G network to 21Mbps by the end of this year -- creating what it claims will be the fastest mobile service in the world.
Telstra claims its controversial Next G network is now officially better than its soon-to-be-defunct CDMA equivalent, after the telco sent a team to audit network coverage. Now government testers are hot on their heels.
Optus, Vodafone and Three have long struggled to match Telstra's reach outside the capital cities. Vodafone's major network upgrade is the best chance yet to dilute Next G's rural monopoly, but questions remain.
For all the horror stories of farmers left stranded by the shutdown of the CDMA network, there are plenty of success stories.
It has been a busy year in telecoms, whether because of the increasingly bitter relationship between Telstra and the government; the awarding of the contentious but (finally) progressive broadband contract to OPEL; the pivotal election that led to a change of government; or the move of 3G mobile technology into the mainstream at last.
Tevye, the much loved protagonist of Fiddler on the Roof, was full of wisdom. "A bird may love a fish," he memorably said, "but where would they build a home together?"
A while back, frustration with my inability to get online outside of the office drove me to invest in a 3G data service from Hutchinson's 3. For $30 per month, I get 2GB of data that's accessible pretty much anywhere I go (I do all my work in metropolitan areas).
Is it finally time to ditch Optus' buggy network and go back to the dark side? Is it time to take my iPhone to Telstra's Next G and hang my head in shame?
In these two audio recordings, Nigel Dews, the CEO of mobile carrier 3, firstly goes through the current state of the company in detail and then deals with tough questions from reporters and analysts.
In 2005, Canadian wireless company Research in Motion (RIM) came from relative obscurity to steal a global lead in e-mail equipped mobile devices with its BlackBerry. Could 2008 be the year that BlackBerry falls off its perch?
In his role as Telstra's chief executive, Sol Trujillo is the most talked about and controversial telecommunications executive in Australia. ZDNet.com.au sister site CNET News.com sat down with Trujillo during a recent trip to the US to quiz him about wireless and handsets.
High-speed mobile broadband has arrived! We compare Telstra's BigPond Wireless Next G service with Vodafone's HSDPA-enhanced 3G network.
NetComm Turbo 7 Series Wireless Gateway provides an easy set-up, good coverage and modest speed. While this system gives you the advantage of portable wireless gateway, wireless services are less reliable and cannot match ADSL2 speeds.
Fancy a 1.3Mbps broadband pipeline direct to your notebook, without a cable in sight? The new BigPond wireless data card makes good on Telstra's lofty promises for its Next G network.
The Telstra F850 offers a relatively inexpensive way to jump aboard the carrier's Next G platform, as long as you don't mind travelling in the slow lane.
Here's a dollop of irony: the best Windows Mobile smartphone has been created by Palm! A bevy of OS enhancements and access to Telstra's Next G mobile broadband network easily make it the best Windows Mobile device we've ever used.
Telstra shareholders fear break up
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Having problems with complex data center? Simplify your data center now.
Can the Telco Reform Act be win-win?
Has New Zealand's smiling assassin delivered?
The long-awaited separation of Telstra
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